Delivery cabinet for milk bottles



Feb. 19, 1935. R, R, TAYLQR' 1,991,966

DELIVERY CABINET FOR MILK BOTTLES Filed May 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 3&3 wwn R. R. TAYLOR Filed May 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 19, 1935.

DELIVERY CABINET FOR MILK BOTTLES @V\ E 1" l I I l l l l| I I Vkk W l I I I l IIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIHHIII u I l I I I l I a I I I l I l u 3 9 L l HH TTIHIWIFI HIWT \M W E I, 41 4 Wu 5 T- Patented Feb. 19, 1935 DELIVERY CABINET FOR I-LK BOTTLES I Raymond- R. Taylor, Dar1ington, Md., assignor,

by mesne assignments, of one-fourthtoMelvin P. Johnson and one-fohrth-jtoEdwin Harlan, bothof Bel-AiryMd.

Application May 5,1934, SerialTNo. 7245226 8 Claims. (01.232-41) This 1 invention relates to a door-cabinet for milkbottles and proposes "to construct-a" unit adapted to beset in an aperture cut in a wall or door panel and oflthat type which permits the milk man toiput "a bottle in from the front, and

housewifeto take it out-from the rear without thenecessity of-openingthe door.

- Cabinets-for milk bottles, 'ofthe class ab'oveindicatedwcusto'marily include a casing set half inside and half "outside the door panel and having opposite Zopenings for the respective insertion and removal 0f the milk bottle, itheouter openingbeing closed by a:cabin'et 'doo'r which the milk man opens tosgain access'to the cabinet. Such a-construction would produce a through opening into-theihouse whenthe cabinet door is ope'n, whichahas its objections, to=remove which a revoluble drum "is generally provided within 1 the cabinet havinguan fopen-ing on one side only, which may be oriented so as-alternately to ali-ne with theoutside or inside opening of the cabinet according-to whether the milk bottle is to-be placed within or. taken out of i the cabinet.

One-ofrthe objects of the-invention is the pr ovision-inacabinet asabove described of a springrotated adrum'normallyl biased to a position in which its opening registerswith the inside-open-.

ing of thez-cabintz'and "connected to the door so that whenthe latter isopenedthe drumis-r'otated l-t'o a=position in which the' milk bottle may be inserted fromztheoutside, and when the door is released: it automatically 4 closes responsive to theerotationof? the drum to its original position.

rAnother objectof the invention is the provision ofrlatchingmeans responsive-tothe weight/ f a bottieavplacednin said drum in upright position,-

butrinertto'the weight-Of the bottle'when'the latter isplaced in the cabinet in inverted-positionwhereby-the cabinet door automaticallylocks in closed position when a full bottle is 1 placed within the cabinet, but remains unlocked when arr-empty bottle isplaced therein in inverted p'osi-" tionpso-that the-milk man c'an'open the cabinet door'andaremove theiempty bottle.

Qther'objectsofthe invention will appear-as thefollow-ing 'descripti'onof apreferred. and mactical 'embodiment thereof proceeds.

the drawings which accompany andforma part of the following specification, the same char-- acters (St-reference have been einployed to designate identical parts:

rrgure 1 is a perspective view of partan ora "door s'hbwiri'g the outside aspect of the milk 4 bottle cabinet with the door-closed;

door panel showing the bottle ininvertedposition; V

'Figure- 3 is a vertical section :through the cabinet showing the parts inflocke'd relation;

Figure "4 isa crosssectiontaken along'the 5 line 4- 4of -Figure 3; f V 1 Figure 5 is a cross sectiontaken a1ong the line 5- 5 of'Figure 3; I

-"-Figure "'6 1 is a cross section throughjthe l lower part -o'f the'cabinet showing the neck or the in verted bottle;

Figure 7 is a cross section taken .alongthe line 7 7- of-Fig ure 3 and Figure il vertical "section taken along? the line 8#8-"ofFigure"l. p 1 j -Referring nowin:detail to theseveral figures, the numeral l repi'eseritsa frame adapted to be suitably "secured to "the marginal .portions'of a door 'panelyor "other "similar structure. surroundinganaperture or hole cut .in'the' dc or1panel for the p'urpose'bf v installingthe device of the invention.

'Ihe frahie may be'of anydesired construction, but is-hereshownas atfiangeimadq integral with a cylindrical casing2. When thefra'me is in place the casing extends partly inside and'partly outside of {the door. The casing 2 has; openings 3xand 4 in theinner an'douter' sidesthere'of, each of which is suilicientl'y extensive to) permit the insertion or removalof a" milk bottle. ."I'heoIuter of twoi operative positions, inoneiofi whichfthe 40 opening, 11 registers with the outerf opening 4 and m the otherof which it registers with the opening 3; When the openingsfll and -3"tare re istr passage througlr'the openinge is occludedibythe imperforate-side of the d-rum 6"eve'n' though the door 5 should be open, and when'thedrum 6 is"-in -its opposite posit-ion, that is to say, "with its imperforate-"s-ide *toward the opening-3,? there is no through pass'age' from'the door 5 into' the house. r In the preferred form of the inventioma. spiral spring 1 2 -fre'ely" surrounds the-journal 8, being fixed at one nd to theflnderne'ath fsurface {6! the bottom of the drum-6 and at tsomer'eri l to the adjacent face ofthebottom-of thecasing 2. This spring biases the drum 6 to a normal repose position in which the opening 11 in said drum registers with the opening 3 on the inside of the casing 2. The door 5 is connected to the drum 6 by a flexible element or cable 13 which winds upon the upper portion of said drum under the bias of the spring 12, drawing the door 5 closed simultaneously with the turning of the drum to a position in which access may be had thereinto from the house side of the device.

The cable 13 is of such length as to act as a stop when the drum registers its closed position, bringing said .drum to a standstill when it is in registry with the opening 3. -When the door 5 is opened, the cable 13 rotates the drum in a reverse direction against the tension of the spring. When the door has reached its wide open position, it abuts against the frame 1 as'shown in Figure 6, being thus stopped when the opening 11 in the drum is in registry with the outer opening 3 of the casing 2.

The operation of the device up to the present point in the description is as follows: The milk man opens the door 5 bringing the drum to a position in which a bottle of milk can be inserted through the registering openings 3 and 11. He then lets go the door andthe spring 12 automatically closes the door and at the same time rotates the drum to thereverse position shown in Figure 6 in which the openings 11 and 3 register and the housewife can take the milk bottle out.

'It is highly desirable that when a full milk bottle is in the cabinet the door 5 be locked so that the bottle may not be stolen and is equally important that the door be unlocked when the milk man comes. This selective locking function is accomplished by the following mechanism. On the bottom of the casing 2 is an upstanding keeper 14, preferably resilient. A reciprocable bolt 15 extends downwardly through the bottom of the drum 6 adapted to be extended into the path of the keeper 14, but normally maintained in out drawn position with respect to said keeper by a spring 16 surrounding the upper part of said bolt and confined'beneath the head 1'7 thereof. The bolt is overlain by a hinged plate 18, the weight of which the spring is able to sustain when the plate is unloaded. When the milk bottle is inserted within the drum 6 with its weight resting upon the plate 18, the latter depresses the bolt 15 in the path of the keeper 14. Thenwhen the milk man lets go of the door 5, permitting the automatic swinging of the drum under the urge of the spring 12, it swings in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 8, the bolt 15 under the weight of the bottle depressing the keeper 14 until the bolt has gone past it, the keeper snapping up into the position shown in Figure 8 and preventing reverse rotation of the drum 6. The position of parts as shown in Figure Sis reached just when the door 5 has become fully closed and since the door is connected by the cable 13 to the drum 6 and the latter cannot rotate by virtue of being locked, the door 5 can not be opened.

' In order to prevent the bolt being pressed down into contact with the bottom. of the casing 2 in which position it would act as a brake in retarding the rotative function imparted by the spring 12, a stop 19 is provided upon which the plate 18 rests when thebolt is in looking position, keeping the lower end of the bolt out of contact with the bottom of. the casing.

1 When the milk bottle is removed the plate 18 and the bolt 15 spring upwardly under the tension of the spring 16 raising the end of the bolt above the keeper 14 so that the drum 6 is now unlocked. When the housewife returns the empty bottle to the cabinet, she inverts it as shown in Figures 2 and 6. It will be observed that the plate 18 is so shaped and positioned as to leave room for the bottle without being contacted by it. Therefore it will not be'de'pressed and the cabinet will remain unlocked so that the milk man can open the door and remove the empty bottle.

While I have in the'above disclosure described what I believe to be a preferred and practical ema casing having inner and outer openings on'op-' posite sides and adapted to be set in an aperture in a door in a plane intermediate said openings, a rotatable drum in said casing having an opening in one side registrable with either of the openings in said casing, a door co-operating with the outer opening, a connection between said door and drum closing said door through rotation ct said drum to a position with its opening in registry with the inner opening of said casing, and

a spring for rotating said drum, normally biasing said door to its closed position. 2. Delivery cabinet as claimed in claim 1, in-

cluding locking means carried by said drum re-.

sponsive to the weight of a milkbottle within said drum and in operative engagement with said locking means, for locking said door when the latter has reached its closed position in the 'rotation of said drum.

3. Delivery cabinet as claimed in claim 1,

eluding normally released locking meanscarried by said drum responsive to the weight of a milk bottle placed within said drum and in operative engagement with said locking means for locking said door when the latter has reached its closed' position in the rotation of said drum.

4. Delivery cabinet as claimed claim 1, including locking means comprising a bolt carried by said drum and a detent on the bottom of said casing, a spring normally holding said bolt out o! the path of said detent, and weight responsive means within said drum positioned to be engaged.

by a milk bottle in upright position for depressing said bolt into the path of said detent whereby said door is locked when it reaches its closedv position through the rotation of said drum, 'said' weight responsive means being shaped to remain unengaged by a milk bottle placed in said drum in inverted position. 7

. 5. Delivery cabinet for milk bottles comprising a casing having inner and outer openings on opposite sides and adapted to be set in an aperture in a door in a plane intermediate said openings," a rotatable drum in said casinghaving an opening in one side registrable with either of said openings in said casing, a door co-operating. with the outer casing, a cable connection between said door and drum and windable upon the latter for closing said door through rotation of said drum to a position with its opening in registry 'with:

the inner opening of said casing, and a spring for rotating said drum, normally biasing said door to its closed position, v I a r 6. Delivery cabinet for milk bottles comprising a casing having inner and outer openings on opposite sides and adapted to be set in an aperture in a door in a plane intermediate said openings,

a drum in said casing rotatable upon upper and lower spindles, and having an opening in one side registrable with either of the openings in said casing, a door co-operating with the outer opening, a cable connection between said door and drum and windable upon the latter for closing said door through rotation of said drum to a position with its opening in registry with the inner opening of said casing, and a spring surrounding the lower spindle and connected to said drum and casing for rotating said drum, normally biasing said door to its closed position. v V a 7. Delivery cabinet as claimed in claim 1, including locking means comprising a bolt carried by said drum and a resilient detent on the bottom of said casing, a spring normally holding said bolt out of the path of said detent, and weight responsive means within said drum positioned to be engaged by a milk bottle in upright position for depressing said bolt into the path of said detent whereby said bolt in the course of rotation of said drum rides. over said detent and is locked thereby against return movement, thereby said door is locked in its closed position, said weight responsive means being shaped to remain unengaged by a milk bottle placed in said drum in inverted position.

8. Delivery cabinet for milk bottles comprising a casing having inner and outer openings on opposite sides and adapted to be set in an aperture in a door in a plane intermediate said openings, a rotatable drum in said casing having an opening in one side registrable with either of said openings in said casing, a door co-operating with the outer casing, a connection between said door and drum closing said door through rotation of said drum to a position with its opening in registry with the inner opening of said casing, a spring for rotating said drum, normally biasing said door to its closed position, and locking means within said drum responsive to the weight of a milk bottle placed uprightly in said drum for locking said door when it is closed, but nonresponsive to a milk bottle placed in inverted position in said cabinet, whereby said door remains unlocked.

RAYMOND R. TAYLOR. 

